Cal football: Notes from Tedford’s press conference

A personal commitment prevented me from attending Monday’s press conferences at Stanford and San Jose State.

I wanted to hear what Jim Harbaugh and Dick Tomey had to say about their teams and their season openers, but this was one of those unbreakable personal commitments.

But I made it to Cal today for Jeff Tedford’s weekly presser. If he’s feeling more pressure to win than usual — because of the ’07 collapse — it didn’t show.

There wasn’t much in the way of big news, but Tedford had several comments that might be of interest to Cal fans:

* Asked about the quarterback situation, he said Kevin Riley “makes plays with his legs.” Clearly, mobility had a lot to do with Tedford’s decision to start Riley.

Longshore’s a statue, always has been. (Hey, there’s no other way to put it.) And an immobile quarterback, combined with new receivers, could severely limit Cal’s options — it could make things easy for the defense.

* Tedford said that Longshore will play Saturday against Michigan State, and that it will probably be at a predetermined time (ie: he’ll have a plan in place before kickoff — it won’t be a spur-of-the-moment decision).

But don’t expect the Bears to use a QB rotation, this Saturday or any Saturday, unless there’s absolutely no choice. “I’m not a huge fan of the two-quarterback system,” Tedford said.

* Of the 3-4 defense and Michigan State’s powerful tailback Javon Ringer, he said: “We’re not playing a spread team. We’re playing a downhill (running), physical team, and we’d better be ready for it.”

Nose tackle Derrick Hill and inside linebackers Worrell Williams and Anthony Felder will be tested early and often.

* Of the new receivers, Tedford said: “There may be a learning curve.”

* Asked (by me) for an estimation of how much he’d use Jahvid Best, Tedford said the super-fast sophomore would likely get 65 percent of the tailback touches, with Shane Vereen getting most of the other 35.

“We’re not going to force it, but it’s important to get the ball in (Best’s) hands,” Tedford said. “He’s a great playmaker.”

(He noted that during the Arrington/Lynch and Lynch/Forsett years, the breakdown between first teamer and second teamer was usually 65-35.)

* As for the field goal kicking, Tedford indicated that freshman David Seawright not only has a stronger leg than Jordan Kay, his consistency also improved substantially during training camp.